One Night in Cardiff
by Pooky1234
Summary: Why didn't Torchwood come out to investigate a strange police box appearing in the Plass not to mention an earthquake caused by the rift? This is my explanation.


**I have been meaning to write this for some time because I thought Jack would have to be there during these events and why wouldn't Torchwood come out to investigate? It would be heartbreaking for Jack to see the Doctor and be able to do nothing. I know of course that RTD hadn't invented Torchwood yet. To understand the references to Jack and the Doctor's night you need to have read Under the Doctor.**

One night in Cardiff

God this was killing him he thought as he sat and watched the CCTV feed on the monitor in his office. The others were working below. Jack was going to spring a lock down later on that day so that Torchwood could not rush out and investigate what looked like an earthquake happening in the middle of Cardiff. Jack knew exactly what was going to happen because he'd already lived through it. On the monitor he was watching himself, Rose, Mickey and most importantly of all the Doctor, his Doctor, strolling across the Plass towards the restaurant where they were going to have lunch; where they would find out that the mayor of Cardiff was going to build a nuclear power plant in the centre of Cardiff.

Jack had stopped his team from dealing with this threat. He knew that the Mayor was an alien but he also knew that he, the doctor and others would deal with the threat. His eyes filled with tears. He wondered if the Doctor knew that he was there. He hoped that he didn't. Although, as he knew the future, Jack also knew that the Doctor would abandon him in the future after he had suddenly found himself alive again.

Jack had used his wrist strap to return himself to Earth because he knew that the Doctor would return at some point but he'd miscalculated and ended up in 1869. He'd waited for over a hundred years but this wasn't the time. He simply couldn't cross his own timeline. He also didn't want to prevent the events of that night; his night with the Doctor. He felt his body shudder as he thought of that night. All he could do was wait as events unfolded.

Later he'd watched them return with the Mayor, who was also a Slytheen. The Doctor would take her out to dinner not knowing that she had set up the rift to erupt.

Jack intended to keep his Torchwood team there working until that time and then lock down so they would not interfere. He knew he couldn't explain and the lockdown would give them just enough time especially if he just tweaked it to last ten hours.

Suzie appeared at the office door.

'Anything interesting going on Jack?'

'No just watching people come and go,' he said. He knew that the TARDIS could somehow blend in with its surroundings much like the magic bit of pavement that gave them access to the Hub from above.

'We were wondering about going home.'

'No I want every piece of paperwork done tonight before anyone leaves. There's too much being left undone here. God we could do with a decent archivist who could handle things and organise us and the paperwork and perhaps someone who could make a decent cup of coffee.'

Jack's vehemence surprised Suzie. She wondered what had put Jack in such a bad mood but she knew better than to question him and returned back to Owen and Tosh and told them to expect to be staying a bit longer. Owen was not pleased as he considered Saturday night to be his pulling night. But he had to admit that he was weeks behind with the paperwork.

It was now dark but Jack had put the ultraviolet filter on the camera and saw Rose go out with Mickey and the Doctor go out with Margaret. Soon he would have to trip the lockdown. He could do that using his wrist strap – a fact that the rest of the team were unaware of.

Thirty minutes later he hit the button and the Hub went completely dark all of a sudden and the doors sealed before the others could do anything.

Jack heard the others yell.

'Jack what the hell's going on?' Owen yelled from down below.

Jack saw the torch light beams bounce off the walls of the Hub and glisten on the water feature.

'Don't panic,' he said, 'it's just a drill. We have them every so often to test the system. There's nothing we can do so it's just as well I ordered some pizza. It'll be pushed through the post box into here from the tourist office.'

None of them could ever remember there being a drill before.

'Jack did you know this was going to happen?' Tosh asked.

'You bastard Harkness you know how important Saturday nights are to me.' Owen was mad.

'Can't you survive one night without getting your end away? And you accuse me of being sex obsessed!' Jack was also annoyed but he couldn't let them know why.

Suddenly the monitors went mad and began screaming out warnings. The ground began to shake as the rift exploded. Jack had known that this was going to happen. He also knew that he was in the TARDIS trying to deal with the problem and that the Doctor would soon return and that the Mayor would try to use the rift to get herself off the planet. The Doctor would stop her. Rose would go after Mickey and Jack and the Doctor would be left alone in the TARDIS to have their one night.

'What the fuck is happening?' Owen, Tosh and Suzie ran to their monitors.

'The rift is going mad.' Suzie shouted. 'We can't do anything Jack. We're stuck in here. You knew about this didn't you? What is going on Jack? We're locked down to stop us doing anything aren't we?'

'Jack,' Tosh looked at him with questioning eyes. 'Is that true? Did you know about this?'

'Yes,' Jack replied, 'but I can't tell you how or why. I have my reasons and that is going to have to be enough. Things will settle down in a little while. The Plass will be damaged but things will return to normal. Just sit tight and don't panic.'

In a while Jack was right things did settle down. The others sat together probably trying to work out what was happening. Jack continued to watch the CCTV feed and saw himself come out of the TARDIS off to get pizza and beer for his and the Doctor's night in.

'Why don't you try the post box? There should be some pizzas there by now,' he told the others. 'The locks will open about 10.30 tomorrow.'

They sat around eating while Jack spent time remembering that night, that wonderful night, followed by that terrible morning.

As dawn broke he was still watching the feed. The others were asleep in various places around the Hub. He saw himself run out of the TARDIS after the Doctor had told him to forget everything that had happened between them and ended Jack's hopes and dreams. He watched the young family pass by and especially the young man who turned to look at him. He couldn't quite see his face but after a hundred years or more he still looked good in a suit. Pity he'd never see him again.

The Doctor appeared and Jack returned to the TARDIS. Later Rose appeared and the TARDIS left to take the Syltheen egg back to R……………………….. He had trouble now remembering how to pronounce that planet. He knew that he was going onto a future that would bring him back to the past and to here. He'd known that this moment would happen and that he would be unable to ask the Doctor how he had ended up here and why he had left him. Did he know that Jack was immortal? Was that why he left him on that station all alone? Jack had so many questions but as he watched the TARDIS disappear he knew he would have to wait to find out. He'd had so many occasions when the Doctor had appeared over the last hundred plus years but none of them had been his doctor. He hoped that one day he might find something that would help him know that his Doctor was there.

He pressed the button on his wrist strap and unlocked the Hub. His team began to appear. They left without speaking to him. Jack was left alone with his thoughts. He was hoping he wouldn't have to wait another hundred years for his Doctor to appear again.


End file.
